FSI, France’s strategic investment fund, has taken a stake in auto supplier Valeo, it was announced today.
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FSI is a state-run enterprise launched in October last year by president Nicolas Sarkozy. It was set up to bolster France’s industry and protect it from foreign takeovers.
Today it took a 2.35% stake in Valeo for EUR19m. The acquisition, made on the open market, brings the French state’s total shareholding in Valeo to 8.33%. The state-controlled bank Caisse des Depots (CDC) already held a stake. New York-based Pardus owns another 19.75%.
Earlier this month, Valeo posted a bigger than expected full-year net loss and a 9% sales drop, scrapped its 2008 dividend and said it did not see the car industry crisis ending before 2011.
The group said it faced a “generalised collapse in its markets in the fourth quarter”, with sales falling 26.6% thanks to plunging car sales
FSI, though, said Valeo’s sector position was “strategic” and the automobile industry would face “significant evolutions” in the months and years to come. It has yet to decide on board representation.
The French newspaper Le Figaro also reported today that FSI would also give financial help to car parts maker Treves. The report did not cite any sources.
